Old Tricks, New Answers
by Banshi13
Summary: Kolya's up to his old tricks again. John mounts a rescue mission for his kidnaped team member, and recieved help from an unexpected source. This story is finished for now, please read and review!


Author's Notes: This came to me while trying to come upon a plot for a McShep story line. Don't ask me how I got this story from trying to figure out that, but here it is. Somehow, along the way, this became a light ShWeir and McTeyla fic, but only at the end really. There are hints if you squint through out the fic (cool rhyme, eh?), but there is nothing overt, and definitely nothing sexual, as I feel none of these characters at this point in time, in this story line, are up for that yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Stargate: Atlantis, though if the Powers that Be over in Vancouver Canada would like to send David Hewlett my way, I certainly wouldn't object.

Warnings: Language

Atlantis

"Kolya, I swear on everything I hold dear to me, if you hurt her, it won't be a gunshot in the shoulder this time..." John's angry voice carried through the gate room over the transmitter and through the stargate to where Kolya was holding the current leader of Atlantis hostage. _This is the last time she goes off world,_ he swore to himself, waiting for confirmation that Kolya had gotten his message. How did the Genii even know they were going to be there? The planet that they'd visited was supposedly filled with simple farmers, peasants really. Teyla had described them as a gentle, loving people with nothing but their crops and their families to live for. So how had the Genii picked up on the fact that Elizabeth Weir was traveling to the planet herself to broker a deal for grains in exchange for medicines and a medical staff willing to treat it's people without question?

"Major Sheppard, you are in no position to make threats against me," came the voice that John had learned to hate with a passion.

"He's right, Major, he wasn't hesitant to kill her before, he won't think twice about doing it now," Rodney hastened to add before John could bite back with a sarcastic comment. The military commander tightened and loosened his grip on the small communications device Kolya had left back at the gate site of the planet. The irony was not lost on him.

"What do you want Kolya? Must be pretty big if you've decided to take her captive."

"It really is nothing much, Major Sheppard." The communicator crackled of static in and out a bit, distorting some of the message. "-f course what I was after before, the C-, all of your medical su-lies, the ships-'jumpers' are on my list, plus an additional item."

"And that would be?" John wasn't entirely certain he wanted to hear the answer. Actually he wasn't sure if he would be able to UNDERSTAND the answer through all the static.

"The good doctor herself." The answer came, ironically enough, clear as day.

The entire gate room came to a stand-still, no one believing their ears. John and Rodney just looked horrified at one another. "What the hell could he possibly want her for?" Rodney whispered, looking around. Behind him, even Teyla shook her head, and Ronon looked very much like he wanted to walk through the gate, even though he wouldn't be able to go anywhere. It was obvious to John that Kolya had had this planned for a while now.

"Sorry, she's not on the table at the moment," he answered after a few moments of silence.

"Unfortunately, the decision is not up to you. You are no longer in control of the situation, Major Sheppard. Doctor Weir is and will remain in our possession until our use of her is fulfilled. How you respond to our other demands is what will dictate her condition when she is returned to you. I will contact you again in 12 hours. As I feel that that is a most generous amount of time to give you, you will have your answer for me by then. And Major..." John could literally see the self satisfying sneer through the device, "if your answer is 'no', we will use Doctor Weir for what we need, and you will never see her again."

The communication died and John stared at it, clenching it with his fist.

"Major..." Rodney stood behind him. His friend didn't move, and neither did anyone else in the room. They'd all seen Sheppard angry, but this went far beyond simply pissed off. As he turned around and looked at Rodney, the astrophysicist actually stepped back a few paces.

"Get Bates and his team in the conference room now. Ronon, Teyla, take three marines back to the planet and start asking around. If there are Genii spies on there, I wanna know about it and I want them brought here."

"Right away, Major," Teyla answered, tapping Ronon on the arm and descending the steps, quickly out of John's sight.

_M7S-949, 30 minutes Active Hostage Situation_

Teyla and Ronon, along with their contingent of soldiers stepped out calmly through the gate on M7S-949. Unlike before, there was no one to meet and greet them. All five moved down the steps and headed toward the village, which about two clicks away from the star gate.

"The more and more I hear about this guy Kolya, the more I think he's a wraith in human disguise," the Satedan muttered, his eyes flickering over the area watching for anyone that might suddenly pop out from the grass. Beside him, Teyla shook her head, her mouth in a thin line showing her worry for Dr. Weir. "I fear that while Kolya is alive and in power, we will never be free of him."

The walk to the village was silent after that, Teyla and Ronon taking point while the three marines took their flank and six. When at last the village was in sight, the team picked up their pace until they were seen by some of the villagers. While the children ran to get their elders, those adults that were near ceased their chores and came to greet the Atlantians.

"Greetings, Teyla, it is agreeable to see you again!" A woman that Teyla had come to know as Salen greeted her warmly, bowing her head in respect at both the Athosian leader and Ronon. "We were unaware that you would be returning after your Dr. Weir left."

"We were 'unaware' of it ourselves," Ronon muttered, looking at Teyla to take over the diplomatic talks.

"We were not expecting to return after Dr. Weir's departure either," Teyla explained, allowing Salen to lead her back toward the village. "Salen, we very much need to speak with your leaders."

"Is anything wrong?" Salen stopped walking, instant worry spreading across her face. Before Teyla could answer, she saw over the shoulder of the woman the villages leader walking the short distance. Teyla and the rest of the contingent met him half way.

"Teyla, to what do we owe the honor of your return?" The man asked.

"I am afraid we do not return with good news," Teyla began, but the man interrupted her.

"Dr. Weir seemed to think that our trade agreements were most fair and just...if it is a simple matter of renegotiating I'm sure we can come to some kind of arrangement..."

"Perhaps it would be better if we speak in private, Arlen," Teyla answered, nodding her head toward the village. With a worried 'of course', the man led them through the village and into a small, wooden hut. While the three marines stationed themselves around the hut, Teyla and Ronon entered, the latter having to duck under the doorway to walk in.

"I certainly hope we can come to an agreement that benefit's both parties," Arlen was saying, beckoning to the other's to have a seat.

"Arlen, the reason we have come here is because while Dr. Weir was leaving your village to return home, she was attacked and abducted by a people we call the Genii." Teyla watched the man's reaction closely, gaging any evidence of deception, but the man was truly confused and horrified at the same time.

"Was anyone hurt?" Arlen finally asked.

"Two of her security detail were killed, the other two were hurt pretty bad," Ronon glared at the man, as though he were trying to force a confession from the leader, "our doctor's workin' on them right now."

"A-and Dr. Weir? Any news of her condition?"

"As far as we know, she had not been harmed, but that may change if we do not find her soon." Teyla fixed the man with her most serious of looks. "I realize that relations between our two peoples may be strained, but we must ask you some questions." Arlen turned away, running a finger over his chin in contemplation. When he turned back to the duo, his face was the prefect mask of compliance.

"You will have our full cooperation, I can assure you. I would hate to believe that any of my people would be involved in such an act, but there were, rest assured they will be dealt with accordingly."

"We're gonna need to talk to everyone in your village," Ronon started off clasping his hands in front of him, "you, the rest of your council, all the adults...you get the idea," he raised his eyebrows at Teyla, silently asking her if there was anything else that needed to be asked. She smiled thinly at her friend, then focused her attention on Arlen.

"We would like to start with you and your council."

_Atlantis, 2 hours 30 minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

Three hours had passed since Elizabeth was supposed to have been back from her excursion on M7S-949. Three hours that she had been in Kolya's hands. Three hours that Teyla and Ronon had been back on that planet trying to figure out what the hell had gone wrong. Three hours of extraction planes set up by Bates and his security team.

For John, it was three hours of gut wrenching worry.

He knew, he absolutely knew, that he should have accompanied her. He was the military head of Atlantis, and despite what anybody had told him...it wasn't his fault, it was a diplomatic mission, he had no place there, blah, blah, blah...but he always came back to the one thing that he knew to be true. She was HIS responsibility. On Atlantis, off-world, on Earth, she was his responsibility, and he hadn't lived up to his task.

Fitting that he was on the balcony just outside the gate room where she and he would have long talks about Atlantis's future, the expedition team, who was doing great work and who may need an extra push. He'd even explain football terminology to her when they'd run out of things to say, but it would always be on this balcony. This small cubicle of space held a special place in both their hearts. Maybe that was the reason why he was feeling the smallest amount of comfort imaginable just standing here.

His thoughts went back to the storm, when Kolya had infiltrated his base, his people, tortured Rodney, held Elizabeth at gun-point. John had killed 60 of that man's men that day, and he'd done it within a blink of an eye. What he wouldn't give to have, at this very moment, another 60 of Kolya's men standing in front of him that he could just shoot. He'd do it to. To have her back, standing in her office, yelling at him and Rodney for another stupid Ancient-technology stunt. He'd do it in a heart beat.

He leaned, no, sank, onto the railing and looked into the sea below, closing his eyes, seeing her face, strong and determined in front of his eye-lids.

_Before I breathe my last breath, I will get you back, Elizabeth. I swear it._

_New Genii Home World, Five Hours, Active Hostage Situation_

Elizabeth sat in a small cell on a hard, wooden, splinter ridden bench, her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She knew it didn't carry the best message about confidence, but at the moment, she was freezing. The cell she resided in was damp and dark, and nestled within a den of caves that the Genii were, for the moment, calling home. She sighed and saw her breath in front of her face.

For everything Kolya was, he certainly was not a good host. The cell was bare besides the bench and even knowing how cold it was, no one had offered to give her so much as a blanket to keep her warm. Quite a dumb decision on their part if they wanted her to cooperate with them. Which she wouldn't do either way, but still.

When they'd brought her to their camp, the Genii stripped her of all her personal belongings; her earrings, her necklace, her communicator. She hazzard a guess that she'd been their 'guest for about five hours now. She hadn't eaten since before she left Atlantis and her stomach was beginning to rumble. It had certainly been a while, at least.

She didn't stand as the door squeaked open, only looked at the person that entered the room. Though she showed nothing on the outside, the sight of Kolya turned her stomach. When she thought back to how close she'd come to dying by the man's hand, it hardened her resolve even more to give him as little as she possibly could.

"Your Major Sheppard is quite concerned about you," Kolya stated, taking in Elizabeth's small form, "he does not seem to understand the predicament that you're in. Has he always had control issues?" He paced slowly, as though stalking his prey before leaping.

"What do you want from me? Why have you brought me here?" Dr. Weir took over, not allowing Kolya to see that vulnerable side of her again. Until Sheppard and the rest of Atlantis found her, she was on her own. A glimmer of weakness could be her undoing.

"Of course, being a military man myself," Kolya continued, as though he didn't hear her, "I can understand how he must be feeling. Everything out of your hands, nothing you can do but follow orders..." he turned and rested his gaze on Elizabeth who was glaring at him, "I can admit, it does get trying." To her credit, Weir kept silent, allowing the man to ramble on.

"I have promised him that if he and you cooperate and do exactly as we tell you, neither of you will be harmed. For his part, all John Sheppard needs to do is giving me your C-4 and your medical supplies."

"And for my part?"

"Ah...for your part," Kolya grinned, "you are quite the diplomat, Miss Weir, and we have need of such a person as you at the moment."

Elizabeth allowed her feet to touch the floor and leaned forward, trying to figure out Kolya's game. "You need me to be a diplomat for you?" Her tone was quite clear; she didn't believe a word of what she was hearing.

"More like a negotiator. You see, there are a few groups of people that have things that we, the Genii, sorely need...ammunition, food, medicines...even some of our people that have managed to be captured." He turned full toward her. "You are an accomplished diplomat and negotiator Dr. Weir."

"And you want me to negotiate all those things for you?" Elizabeth guessed, standing up and crossing her arms, "the guns, the food, the medicines...your people, you want me to sit down with the leaders of these groups and get you the things you need?"

"I would very much like it if you did that yes."

Dr. Weir clasped her hands behind her back, walking to the wall closest to her, then turning back, she looked at Kolya with an expression of decision on her face. "I will negotiate with all parties that you ask for food and medicines. I'll ask for the safe return of your people. Arms and weapons however are not my specialty."

"Ah... you seem to have the same problem Major Sheppard has," Kolya observed, "neither one of you understands the situation you're in. I'll put this much clearer, Dr. Weir. You WILL get me the arms, food, and medicines that I want and my people back to me."

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. "And if I don't? I can only imagine what you would do with all those weapons and more people at your disposal. Trying to take Atlantis is right at the top of your list, I'm sure." Kolya chuckled, but she did not waver her gaze. She continued to look him in the eye, even as he ended up mere inches from her face.

"Let me make myself perfectly clear, Dr. Weir. If you do not do as I ask, I will force you to do as I ask. I'm sure you'll remember Dr. McKay and his experience with a few of my soldiers? I'd hate to put a mark on this porcelain skin of yours, but make no mistake, I am not above it." He smiled grimly at her and stepped away toward the door, opening it and then turning around to look at her.

"Something to think about, wouldn't you agree?"

Elizabeth watched as he left and let out the breath she'd been holding, crossing her arms protectively over herself. Only one thought was running through her head at the moment.

She was in big trouble.

_Atlantis, Eight Hours, 30 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

"Alright, where are we at?" John brisiqly walked into the conference room, and sat in his normal chair.

"We have spoken to many people of the villagers on the planet." Teyla began, "Ronon is still there following a lead on a possible Genii spy."

"What's the lead?"

"According to a member of the council, there was a member of his village that was seen using a communication device similar to that of the Genii. Arlens people do not have access to that technology. Ronon is in the process of tracking him." John nodded at Teyla and looked at the Chief Security Officer.

"Bates, your team ready to go?"

"On your order, Sir," the sergeant responded, nodding his head. "Ten marines, myself, and I'm assuming you as well."

"Damn right assuming me." John answered, looking up as a technician entered the room.

"We have an unscheduled off-world activation," he informed the group. John looked at his watch. "S'not time for Commander Cocky yet..."

"Perhaps it is Ronon back from the planet?" Teyla asked, rising from her seat along with everyone else. They filed into the gate room. "It's Ronon's IDC, Sir," the technician informed without being asked.

"Let him in," John answered, walking around the equipment and down the stairs to the platform, Rodney and Teyla close behind. As John's foot touched the platform, so did Ronon's, along with the feet of another human the Major didn't recognize. "Ronon, I thought I told you to call before you brought friends over."

"You did not stipulate rules for enemies," Ronon shot back, glaring at his captive.

"I will tell you nothing." Was the man's only reply, looking angrily from the marines and Ronon to John, Teyla, and Rodney.

"Mmm, okay. Ronon, why don't you escort our guest down to the brig and see if a few hours in there will change his mind." Ronon started to heard the man away, but Rodney stopped him.

"Hold on a minute," Rodney reached for the man's arm and grasping it, pulled away a Genii communications device. After nodding, Ronon once again started off for the brig, leaving Rodney to study the tool.

"What will you use this for, Dr. McKay?" Teyla asked.

"Well, he's definitely our spy, I mean, he's got a Genii communication device but..but it looks a little different from the one that we've got..." holding the tool, he took the steps two at a time back up to the control area and grasped the one that John had been using earlier in his hand, looking at them closely.

"McKay?" John inquired, following at a slower pace along with Teyla.

"I..." Rodney continued to look from one device to the other, and both Teyla and John could see the wheels turning in his head. "Look, Genii technology is crude at best right? I think that the device that was left for us to find originally was meant only for planetary wide communication. This one," the astrophysicist held up the one that they'd just acquired, "I'm pretty sure has the ability for _inter_-planetary communication."

"Okay..." John furrowed his brow and looked at Teyla, who was also confused, "what does that have to do with-"

"It means that this frequency is going to be higher to compensate for the amount of distance that it has to travel in order to reach it's sister-device. It's like light with the Doppler Shift, only with sound."

"The new Genii home-world?" Teyla guessed.

"Precisely."

"Rodney, can you see what frequency it's on?" John shifted his weight, the wheels in his own head turning, but as usual, the scientist was already miles ahead of him. "If I can determine the frequency of this device," McKay was saying, holding up the most recent in his hand, "then I can at least get a rough estimate of how far the sound is traveling and possibly match it to the gate that it's traveling through."

"In other words, you can use this as a kind of trace?" Rodney nodded excitedly, but Teyla, ever intelligent as she was, voiced a question.

"Is not Kolya going to transmit to the first communicator?" Rodney and John stopped and looked at her, as though their bubble had just been burst. But then, Rodney's face lit up again. "He can transmit to the other one all he wants to. As long as I can hook them both up together and then to one of my laptops, which already has gate frequencies as a part of it's programming, I should be able to separate the waves and match them to their respective communicators."

"Brilliant, get to work on it. We're sittin' at 8 hours, 40 minutes. That means you've-"

"-got 3 hours and 20 minutes to get this thing figured out, yes, yes, yes, yes, I know, Major, I'm working on it." Communicators in hand, he sat down at a work station, grumbling to himself.

"Sometimes I feel like Scotty trying to fix the engines in 10 minutes when it should take eight weeks," Rodney muttered, placing the tools side by side and beginning to wire them together.

_Atlantis, 11 Hours, Five Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

Ronon was getting pissed.

True to his word, the Genii was not talking at all, merely standing in the middle of his cage with a look of defiance covering every centimeter of his being. In return, Ronon was staring at the man with every bit of anger he could muster, which was quite a bit.

"In one hour, we will communicate with your commander," Ronon seethed, "if you give us no information in that amount of time, I'm sure I can convince Major Sheppard to let me into your cage, at which point you will wish you had told me what I wished to know as soon as you met me."

"If I am to meet my death this day, it is knowing that I served the Genii honorably and with my whole being." The man stared down Ronon as best as he could, but the Satedan had been around the galaxy a number of times. He'd become quite good at telling when he'd hit a nerve with someone. To unnerve the man even more, Ronon took out one of his various knives and began sharpening it.

On the poles of the cage.

After a moment, he looked up seeing that the man's eyes were now focused very much on the blade. "Time's runnin' out." He grinned, continuing his actions.

_Atlantis, 11 Hours, 55 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

"Okay, both com's are hooked up, Major," Rodney announced, leaning over the laptop to ensure that all the wires were snug and in place, "now, when Kolya connects with us, the frequency is going to travel through the wormhole and into the original communicator just like normal, but the second communicator is also wired to the original, so it'll be picking up everything that's being said. The frequencies will show up here," Rodney pointed to the two wave patterns on the screen, "the top one is the original, the bottom is the one we found."

"How will this help us to determine how far away Kolya's base of operations is?" Teyla asked.

"The computer is fitted with a number of gate address that we've come across in the Pegasus Galaxy," the scientist explained. John looked over Rodney's shoulder, scrutinizing the laptop as McKay continued, "there's also a program on there that can rate the height of the frequency. The higher the frequency used, the farther away Kolya is."

"How long do you need me to keep him talking?" John asked.

"The longer you talk to him, the more of a chance we have at actually pinpointing his location." Rodney finally stood up straight and cracked his back, placing his hands on his hips afterwards. "We're all set up, now all we have to do is wait."

"How much time is left?" Teyla looked to John, who immediately glanced at his watch. "About three minutes, give or take a few seconds."

The last few minutes were agonizing. No one in the control room spoke; everyone was to anxious to hear back from Kolya. John knew that he had the most professional team anyone could ask for, but he could see it in their eyes. As much as they loved and respected John, they wanted their expedition leader back. The moment the gate started to dial, John looked at Rodney. McKay nodded his head, settling himself at the laptop.

"Major Sheppard," Kolya greeted a few moments after the wormhole was established.

"Kolya, ole buddy, ole pal, can't tell you how much I've missed your voice."

"Have you reached y–r decision?" Kolya's voice was impatient, and as static filled as ever. 'Good,' John thought, 'I can use that to my advantage'.

"Yea, about that. How do I know that you haven't already gotten what you wanted out of Dr. Weir and killed her?" He glanced at Rodney, who nodded his head and gave him a thumbs up sigh. The frequencies were beginning to show.

"I give you my word Maj-r. She is worth far greater to us alive than dead."

"Well, I'm sure you'll understand that I'd like confirmation of that fact before we go any further with this 'Let's Make a Deal' side show."

"The sooner you agree to my terms, the----you have your leader back, Major Sheppard."

"And the sooner you let me talk to Weir, the sooner you'll have an answer to that deal." John took his finger off the talk button and looked at Rodney, who was busily calibrating the frequencies. Teyla stood behind him, looking over his shoulder in earnest.

"Very well, Major. -sent for Dr. Weir. She should be along short-."

"Thank you," John muttered, looking at the communicator as though it had grown to heads, "so...how's the weather on your end of the galaxy?"

"Alright, we're in business," Rodney murmured and Teyla lowered herself closer to look at the screen. "Here's the frequency for the communicator the Major's using now, the other line is the second one. As you can see, the frequency for the second com is higher than that of the first, and it's only getting higher."

"And you said the higher this frequency rises, the further away the Genii will be."

Rodney nodded. "So far it's passed the 5,000 light-year mark...so at least 50,000 miles away from us."

"That sounds very far," the Athosian observed, but Rodney smirked, "actually it'd be too easy if they were that close. In our terms, any planet 5,000 miles away from us would be a walk across the street..." Teyla raised an eyebrow at that.

"Y'know..in a, a jumper..."

He was interrupted by a familiar voice that he'd been wanting to hear for the past few hours now. In his glance at John, he noticed that the man's hand had gone considerably white as he gripped the communicator.

"This is Weir," her voice seemed to boom out. Good, she was still standing strong.

"Dr. Weir, Sheppard here," John introduced, "how're you holding up?"

"I'm fine. They haven't hurt me Sheppard." John shook his head. Always in reassurance mode, that woman was. "I've been treated pretty decently on this...well, this blue tree planet. I've never seen a blue tree, should have brought my camera."

"Yea, that uh...that would have been great," John's eyebrows raised nearly off of his head, looking at Rodney, who was already typing furiously. If that woman had been standing in front of him right he would have grabbed and kissed her for all she was worth.

"I have complied with your request, ---- Sheppard, now you c-mply with mine." Kolya was back, and he didn't sound happy. When Elizabeth had been speaking, John had heard the tremor of nerves in her voice. She'd taken a huge risk in giving them that bit of information, and she knew it. Apparently, so did Kolya.

"I am prepared to give you 1/3 of our C-4 reserves, as well as send a temporary medical team to the gate address you designate along with one jumper." He swallowed, eyes flicking once again to Rodney and Teyla

"Those were not my terms, Major."

"It's all I can afford to give you at the moment, Kolya. I have my own people to think about."

"Yes you do, but you seem to be forgetting about one of them."

John couldn't answer before he heard her pained scream over the com.

"_Kolya!" _When there was no answer, the Major shouted again. _"Kolya, answer me!"_ Teyla stepped around Rodney, her hand on the scientists shoulder. Though he was steadfastly working, he was now sweating and blinking rapidly. Teyla wasn't sure, but she thought she saw a suspicious trail of water seeping from his incredibly blue eyes.

As for John himself, he was ready to slam the com on the consul when Kolya's cold and satisfied voice came back to him once more. The Major could hear a slight whimper in the background, and then nothing but the Commanders voice.

"Major, I will contact you once more in eight hours, as Dr. Weir and myself are going to be busy in talks with some future friends of ours. I hope by then that you will have reconsidered your position. And tell McKay that he and Dr. Weir now match, will you?" As coldly as his voice, the transmission ended, and the wormhole dis-engaged, leaving a stunned and scared crew on Atlantis.

"Rodney?" John grimaced and looked at his friend, who was idly holding his lower right arm. At mention of his name though, he blinked and came out of his trance. "Far as I can tell, where ever they are, they're about 5.5 million miles away from Atlantis. Guaranteed. The frequency tapped out here," Rodney pointed so that Teyla and John could see, "and we've explored a couple of the planets in this system, but there are about 15 of them, and we've only visited 4."

"And none of them had blue trees," Teyla affirmed.

"No-" Rodney was cut off by the klaxons of Atlantis sounding.

"Incoming wormhole," the technician announced, meeting Sheppard's gaze and shaking his head.

"Raise the shield." John stood at the platform. "Any IDC?"

"No, Sir, but we do have an incoming radio signal."

"Kolya again?" Teyla wondered aloud.

"Attention Atlantis. This is Sora of the Genii. Please respond. I have important information regarding Dr. Elizabeth Weir. I and my team of four are unarmed. Please lower your shield."

John clicked his radio two or three times. "Bates, take up defensive positions in the gate room."Abruptly, marines poured out from the bottom level of the gate room, making John remember why he'd put Bates in charge of security. "Open a channel," he ordered. The technician nodded at him to go ahead.

"Genii Team, this is Major Sheppard. The shield is being lowered. Understand we do have security personnel awaiting your arrival, and we will not hesitate to defend ourselves."

"Understood," came Sora's voice. John looked at Teyla, "You wanna..."

"I will join you, yes, Major." The two left the second level and descended the stairs at the same time that Sora and four others stepped through the gooey blue of the worm hole. After all five had been searched, John nodded at Bates to let them pass the checkpoint. Sora immediately did so, while the other four hung slightly behind.

"Thank you for allowing me to enter." she began, nodding at Teyla and John.

"You said you had information about Dr. Weir?"

"Yes. We know where she is being held. We also know why. And we know what Kolya plans to do with her after she outlives her usefulness."

_New Genii Home-World, 14 hours, 15 minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

Elizabeth sat in a room, Kolya standing behind her, two other guards posted at the door. On the other side of the table sat a small delegation from a neighboring system, Kanarian's Elizabeth had been told. She'd also be briefed that they were a very gifted nation when it came to the art of making weapons and training warriors. It was for this reason that Dr. Weir was sitting before them today. Kolya wanted her to negotiate an arms deal with these people. However, she purposely doing her utmost to ensure that the Genii did not get a deal with these people. She sat and deliberated with them for hours, under Kolya's watchful eye, but the man was a military leader. He wasn't a diplomat. And though he may have an inkling that Elizabeth wasn't doing her best, she was certain that he wouldn't have any real way of knowing. Hopefully, he would believe that the Kanarian's were simply being obstinate.

Hopefully.

In the end, her rouse worked. There was no arms deal with the people of Kanara. Kolya, simply put, was furious. Elizabeth was ordered back to her cell, and it was the last time she saw the potential dealers. As she sat in her own personal hole, she ran through her head the number of times she could do this before Kolya began to see through her facade. She knew she had one, possibly two meetings left before he would just out right kill her. And if that was the case, she would have to keep the parties talking. To do that, she would have to give them a lot to talk about. But she could do that. She was a politician.

She could bullshit if she had to.

_But for how long?_ She wondered, resting her head on her arms and staring gloomily at the wall. She hoped that her little hint of blue tree's would be able to give Sheppard and the others a head start on where she was. She'd paid dearly for that remark too. Her skin was now slightly numb where she'd been slashed on the arm. They hadn't bothered to give her any water or gauze to wrap the wound in. _Must be their way of punishing me._ She winced as she moved her arm again. Slightly numb, but not completely.

She let out a slow breath and leaned her head against the stone wall behind her, closing her eyes.

They were opened again when a pained scream was fed to her ears. She sat still for a moment, her heart beating from the shock of a voice that was obviously in agony. Standing up, she went to the door of her cell, trying to hear anything other than the screams that were traveling along the hallway. Her ears picked up on footsteps coming down the hall. Backing away from the door, back to her original place, she crossed her uninjured arm tightly across her chest and faced the door, having a good idea about who would be on the other side of it. She ignored the throbbing in her sliced arm as Kolya entered her space.

"Dr. Weir," he greeted. She swallowed. His smile was like slime, oozing off his face. She suspected her position was about to get worse.

"Regrettably, the Kanarian's have decided to reject our deal," he clasped his hands behind his back and paced languidly back and forth, "as you can hear, we decided to give them some incentive. Doesn't it bother you that races don't want to band together to the defeat the Wraith?"

There was no way for Elizabeth to answer that question without falling into some kind of conversational trap with Kolya, so she chose to remain quiet. An old diplomat's rule; sometimes, the best thing to say, is nothing.

"Doesn't it wrinkle your skin to hear their screams?"

Again, she looked stoically at him, non-responsive.

"I will not tolerate any more of your tricks, Dr. Weir." Kolya finally stopped pacing and looked directly at her, staring her down. "You will not be speaking with Major Sheppard again. Any and all communication will be done through me from now on. The mark on your arm will remind of you of what will happen if you fall out of line again."

"Now," he continued, "my other proposition. It's quite simple actually, but you're a stubborn woman, and of course, you'll make it even more difficult when it doesn't have to be. If you can not broker a deal tomorrow with our next group coming to meet with us, you will be listening to more screams of pain. And you will know that you will be at fault for their pain."

"I can't be blamed for someone not wanting to accept your deals," Elizabeth's silence finally broke. She was visibly horrified at what Kolya had prepared for his other delegations, "I did my best in there today, they were simply not interested. Perhaps if you put forth your offer as more of an alliance than a dictatorship, you would receive more of the kind of response you want."

"What other's want is not my concern, my concern is for the safety of the Genii." Kolya continued to pin her with a stare. "If you don't want any one else to suffer because of your failure to get us what we want, you will walk into the next meeting tomorrow and get us what we want. Otherwise..." he shrugged as another blood-chilling scream echoed down the corridor.

"Something to think about." The deputy opened up the door and Kolya walked out, leaving Elizabeth glaring after him.

For the first time since her capture, she sat down heavily on the floor, and cried, painful yells answering her tired and frightened tears.

_Atlantis, 15 hours, 10 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

"They are on a planet called Haifae," Sora explained, her hands folded in her lap in the conference room. Her four companions waited outside at her request, "this planet is far from the Genii home world and from Atlantis, in the Yafai System."

"Does this planet, by any chance, have blue trees?" John asked.

"Yes. In some quadrants of the planet, there are blue, green, and violet colored trees."

"How have you come about this information?" Teyla asked, keeping cautious eyes on her once old friend.

"We have an intelligence officer working in Kolya's ranks," the spiral blonde explained, "after you released me from Atlantis, I went back home, back to a simple life. I realized that I still wanted to fight the Wraith, but the methods that Commander Kolya was using were wrong, and, more to the point, I couldn't justify them." She turned to Teyla. "I was very angry, and Kolya used that to his advantage. When I had the time to be alone, I discovered that many of the things I did and said were wrong and unfounded. I wanted to right my wrongs, so I joined the Second Movement, a group of Genii that broke away from Kolya's rule and formed their own, more humane and alliance friendly organization. I have been with them ever since."

Teyla nodded her head. "It seems you have chosen well, Sora." The younger woman smiled. "I believe I have as well."

"Rodney?" John switched the conversation over to the scientist, who tapped a few buttons, and suddenly, a holographic image of the Pegasus Galaxy appeared just above the table.

"Where exactly is Haifae?" Rondey asked. As Sora looked at the map, McKay glanced at Sheppard, who raised his eyebrows only slightly.

"Atlantis is here," Sora answered with a definitive voice, "Haifae is this planet here." She pointed to a planet 'above' Atlantis and drew her finger from point A to point B. John looked at the Chief of Science.

"Rodney?"

"She's telling the truth." he confirmed. Teyla and Sora seemed momentarily confused, but John was quick to explain. "We needed to be sure," he confessed, "Rodney through...you know...various scientific means that I don't even begin to understand traced the frequency of the radio signal that Kolya was transmitting to a planet somewhere in that solar system-"

"Actually almost directly to that planet," the other man added in.

"-and determined that was more than likely Elizabeth's location."

"I understand, Major." The girl sat back down, easily resuming her relaxed posture in the chair, "had I been in your place, I would have done the same."

"Sora," Teyla easily regained the girls attention, "we have captured a Genii spy that was placed on the planet we call M7S-949. He has not given us any information of Elizabeth's where-about's, but we do know that he was put their by Kolya. If we took you down to the holding bay, do you think you would be able to recognize him?"

"It is possible," she answered slowly, "but I would not have any luck extracting information from him either. To him, I am a traitor to Kolya's cause."

"Alright. Teyla, go ahead and take Sora down for a visit to the holding bay. Rodney, you and I are gonna discuss an extraction mission with Bates. Dismissed."

_Atlantis, 15 Hours 26 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

Ronon's knife was up quickly as soon as he saw Sora walk in with Teyla. The latter held her hand up. "It is alright Ronon. She has come to help us." Ronon raised an eyebrow, clearly not taking Teyla at her word. "She is dressed as a Genii."

"But she is not one we need to fear." Teyla motioned Sora forward past Ronon, who stepped back, allowing the woman freedom to move. Sora shook her head sadly. "Mackus, what are you doing here?"

"I have nothing to say to you," he replied, holding his chin high, "you betrayed our Commander. You are no better than those that stand behind you."

"Commander Kolya is a murderer and a liar, bent on power, not protection. He seeks to rule, not to defend. Surely you must see this by now."

Mackus spat at her in response.

"Hey, hey, hey now..." the Satedan waved a lazy knife in front of Mackus, "show the lady some respect, before I teach you how."

"It is alright," Sora turned around, shaking her head, "Mackus has always been stubborn and blinded to things that might hurt him. I can do nothing for him."

"He is a member of your people," Teyla sympathized, "what would you have us do?"

"The crime he committed was against your people, not mine. Therefore, Atlantis will have jurisdiction in deciding his punishment for his involvement in the kidnaping of your leader."

"You are _blind_ Sora! Can't you see that Commander Kolya is trying to protect all life against the Wraith? Sometimes sacrifices must be made to achieve victory, and if I must live here the rest of my life as their prisoner, I shall do so knowing that I made the Commander proud by not deserting him!"

"If you stay here the rest of your life, Mackus, I believe that many things will change you. It did for me."

_Atlantis, 15 Hours, 40 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

"We have three teams of marines ready for debarkation, Sir," Bates reported, "all we need is the address of the planet-"

"-which Sora and her people already have." John finished for him. Bates narrowed his eyes slightly, and John being John, noticed almost immediately. "Sergeant?"

"It wasn't so long ago that she helped Kolya infiltrate our base, Major. Should we really be trusting the information she gives us?"

"To be honest, Bates...I don't know," he shrugged, shaking his head, "but she's got a gate address for us, she's been totally co-operative thus far, and I think that this is what Dr. Weir would want us to do...you know for, future diplomatic relations and such."

"Yes, Sir, I just thought that-"

"-I know what you thought, Sergeant. I'm not saying I don't agree with you, I'm saying it's what we've got."

"Yes, Sir."

Behind Bates, the door opened up and Teyla, with Sora right behind walked in. "Have we made any progress, Major?" The Athosian leader asked, taking a seat. Sora remained standing.

"We have a plan in place," John answered.

"All we need is the gate address," Rodney finished, looking at Sora. The woman nodded. "Which I will give you as soon as you're ready."

"We're ready now," Bate's answered, not bothering to hide his distrust. From behind Teyla, Sora could see that the woman wanted to say something, but Sora placed a calming hand on her back. "It is alright, Teyla. I understand."

"Alright, that's great, everybody understands, wonderful, beautiful, can we have the gate address now please so that I can go enter it and we can get Elizabeth back?"

"Rodney..."

"I'm sorry Major...haven't eaten in a while, hypoglycemia is acting up a-"

"Rodney, shut-up."

"Shutting up."

"Teyla," John looked at her, "get ready to go, Rodney you too. We're leaving in 10 minutes, so somebody run down to the barracks and get Ronon's ass up here. Sora, I'm sure you won't mind waiting here in one of our guest quarters?"

"That is acceptable, Major."

"Good. Get movin' people."

_New Genii Home World/Haifae, 15 Hours, 50 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

With the familiar kawoosh of the stargate, John, Teyla, Ronon, and Rodney, along with three teams of marines exited the event horizon, and almost immediately, the fire fight started. The conflict was short lived however, as team Atlantis had been prepared for such a battle, while those two or three Genii guards on the other side had not. Some carried wraith stunners, and within a few seconds, all the guards were lying face down on the ground.

The planet was just as Elizabeth and Sora had explained it. Blue trees all around. Luckily for them, dusk was beginning to settle on the planet, and this made John very optomistic about this being quick and easy.

"They're gonna be asleep for a long while," John muttered, pulling out the LSD and positioning his P-90. Almost immediately, he received a large amount of life signs just ahead about 30 yards. "We got company up ahead, so fan out, stay un-seen, and shoot to incapacitate. If that doesn't work, you are authorized to use any force necessary. Remember we don't waste time, we get in their complex, extract Weir, and get out. Team One, stay behind, cover the gate, frequency 3. The rest of you, let's go."

_Genii Complex, Haifae, 16 Hours, 7 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

_What the hell is going on out there?_ Elizabeth wondered. She was lying on her side, curled up against a cool wall. The screams of the Kanarian's had ceased a little while ago, but now she was hearing what could only be described as panicked activity in the corridor's. She didn't even have time to raise her head before the door swung open and two guards, along with the deputy who'd accompanied Kolya earlier, entered and yanked her up off the floor. Elizabeth struggled as best she could, but after no food, water, or warmth for 16 hours, her strength was a little on the weak side.

"What's going on?"

"You will not speak," the guard told her, shoving her forward toward the deputy, who grabbed her arms. Then, in what could only be described as lightning quick, the deputy un-holstered his weapon and fired twice. By the time she looked over her shoulder, Elizabeth could see the two guards lying on the floor, both shot in the middle of the chest.

"I regret you having to see that, but we have precious little time. You will walk in front of me at all times, and I will get you out of here."

Dr. Weir opened and closed her mouth and she was rushed out of the cell, and she finally managed to get a question out. "Who are you?" Genii soldiers rushed past her, and the deputy kept a firm grip on her arm as they hastily walked down the halls. "I am a friend, that is all you need know right now. Your people have launched a rescue mission to retrieve you. I will get you to them as quickly as possible."

_Genii Complex, Haifae, 16 Hours, 15 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

By now, the Genii were already alerted to the presence of the Atlantian teams. If they weren't, it became more than obvious when a block of C-4 exploded against one of the entries to the underground complex. Ronon was the first one in, knives fiercely waving at anything not Atlantian moving, and within 30 seconds, the immediate entry was secure. The rest followed in, guns aimed and trigger fingers ready. Ronon knelt down and tightly gripped the collar of one man's shirt.

"Where are your holding cells?" He asked, placing the tip of the knife at the soft hollow of the Genii's throat.

"S-second lev-level...that way!" He pointed down the hall just as Ronon dropped him and looked at Sheppard. The Major nodded. "Let's go."

As more guards rushed past them, Elizabeth and her guide were getting closer and closer to freedom. She had no one else to trust, so for now, she went willingly with this man, who was risking his life to get her back to Atlantis. As she walked, her injured arm smacked against the wall as they turned and she bit back a whimper of pain.

"They have entered through the west gate," the man was saying, "we are almost there. If you-"

"Danus, stop right there!"

The couple paused for only a moment and turned, then did an about face and bolted.

"Looks like our luck has ran out!" Elizabeth said, running just behind Danus.

They continued to run, their feet sounding eerily quiet against the troops that were clamoring to catch up with them. It wasn't until they rounded a corner that they were stopped in their tracks.

"Danus, I had such high hopes for you," Kolya ground out, right before he shot him. "Dr. Weir, you are becoming an increasingly high liability." In slow motion, the gun turned from Danus, who was now on the floor and obviously dead, to Elizabeth, who was now cradling her arm in front of her stomach as though it would protect her in someway.

The soldiers who had been pursuing her now flanked her and forced her toward Kolya. "There's nothing more I can do for you, and you know it. My people are flooding your base, and they'll kill every single one of them to get to me. If you want to save your men, the best thing you can do is to release me to my people."

Kolya slowly walked up, until he was dwarfing her in size. "For once, Dr. Weir, I agree with you, though I'm sure you'll understand if I have a different way of meeting your conclusion."

_Genii Complex, Haifae, 16 Hours, 21 Minutes Active Hostage Situation_

"Contingent of about ten to 15 people are coming down this hall way," John radioed, "set up defense positions. Looks like you've got about 15 seconds."

Within five of those seconds, his people were exactly where they needed to be. John kept an eye on the LSD, his P-90 pointed straight ahead, where he knew the Genii would be coming from. The only flaw in his plan was that he didn't anticipate Elizabeth being at the head of the group. Instinctively, thank goodness, she slowed her steps and came to a complete stop. Then, John locked onto his target with his eyes. Kolya, standing right behind her, and although he couldn't see it, he was certain he had a blaster right in the small of her back. "Maintain radio silence," he ordered, slowly putting the LSD back in his vest pocket.

Kolya was no fool either. He took Weir firmly by her injured arm, guiding her in front of him a few more steps.

"I know you are there," he stated. Elizabeth winced, feeling the cold steel of the blaster in her back, not to mention that her arm was beginning to hurt, not just throb, "and here are my conditions. You will allow myself and my people to pass through this complex and the stargate freely, and Dr. Weir will be returned to you."

"No go, that's an ord-!" Elizabeth felt her throat cut off from air as Kolya's very strong arm wrapped around her neck. Her strength very quickly being zapped, she ceased to struggle, choosing to save her spunk for a more opportune time.

"Or," the Commander continued, "I can kill Weir now...very slowly, until you agree."

_Genii Complex, Haifae, 16 Hours, 22 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation._

In the dim lighting, John could see Rodney across from him. The physicist was madder that the Major had ever seen him. The latter actually believed that Mckay might kill someone today. John couldn't blame him. He'd probably be killing about ten somebody's today. And that was light considering.

"Kolya, I've got enough troops targeting your position now. If you hurt her, I'll order them to fire, and you can guess who I'm aiming at!"

"A fire fight in a closed corridor...it would be shame if one of your bullets hit the good doctor," Kolya countered. As if to make his point, he pushed Elizabeth to her knees, his blaster now behind her head. "You will allow my men to pass now. Or you will watch her execution. It's entirely up to you." When John didn't answer him, Kolya pushed the barrel against Weir's head, as if to accentuate his point. "Do you think you can shoot me before I kill her, Major? Are you that confident in your abilities? You and your men show yourselves immediately and allow us to pass. You have ten seconds."

"Dammit."

Teyla looked toward John. "Major Sheppard, we can not allow him to kill Dr. Weir."

"We can't give away our position either," Ronon offered.

"Elizabeth's life is more important than losing a good spot of dirt!" Rodney replied.

"Five seconds, Major!"

"Alright, loosen' your 9-mil's people," John ordered, doing the same to his handgun before calling out to Kolya, "alright, we're coming out!" He stepped out into the faint light slowly, the others doing the same. He heard the clicks of safety's off on the 9 mil's, but hoped that Kolya would take that to mean they were putting the safety's on their P-90's. It was agonizingly slow, but soon all John's men were out, hands off their P-90's, the guns resting on their chests. John stared Kolya down.

"Alright. Here we are. Now you hold your end of the deal up."

In answer, Kolya jerked Elizabeth back up, and John could see that her arm was now heavily bleeding and very dirty, probably infected. She hadn't broke, he could see that, no, she was far from breaking, but her treatment over the past 16 hours had definitely taken a toll on her. Kolya kept Elizabeth between himself and John as his men surrounded him, slowly walking through the aisle made up of very pissed off marines. John's eyes never left Kolya's, though he very much wanted to be looking at Weirs.

When Kolya had finally passed John and the rest of his front line team, Sheppard stepped forward. "Hand her over, Kolya," he ordered, deadly calm permeating his voice. He knew he'd been had the moment the commander smirked back.

"Take them!"

_Genii Complex, Haifae, 16 Hours, 25 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation._

Gun shots rang out through out the corridor and Kolya jerked Elizabeth back with him. This time, knowing that if he got out of the complex she'd be a goner, Elizabeth began to fight back. She lifted her body, kicking, yelling, flailing her arms, both injured and uninjured, hoping that Kolya wouldn't think her worth the trouble and simple drop her where she was held. The doctor could hear John shouting angrily, Rodney responding in kind, and the marines were fighting by melee and gun. She heard Teyla's battle cry, and actually saw Ronon throw two Genii against the wall before she was dragged out of the corridor. She'd no idea that they'd been so close to the exit of the complex. Therefore, she increased her struggles.

"Dammit!" John's 9 mil was out like lightening, aimed at the nearest Genii guard and within 3 seconds, the Major had tacked one dead body on his count for the day. He began to fight through not only the Genii, but his own men that were trying, but not succeeding in clearing a path for him. He could see Elizabeth through the haze of bodies, actively struggling and making it incredibly difficult for Kolya to move her. _Keep it up...just a little longer Elizabeth, just a little longer..._

Ronon, great fighter that he was, saw John's plight almost immediately, and took the liberty of helping John along on his journey. Three men were in John's direct path, so, Ronon, after throwing one Genii off of him, turned and ran full throttle into the trio of guards blocking the Major from his goal. As Ronon kept the three men busy, he felt a clap on his back and out of the corner of his eye, saw Sheppard push through the last two remaining men and beat dirt around the corner.

Focusing his attention back on the task at hand, he saw a man go down just beside his shoulder, Teyla's knife deadly in her hands at any time. "We need to finish this and help Sheppard," he grunted out, taking a feeble, but well aimed punch to the kidney. This only infuriated him more, and leaning his head back, he slammed it hard into the head of the man that had assaulted him. The other two had their heads knocked together, with a few punches to the mid section for added measure.

"Dr. Mckay!"

Rodney turned at the sound of Teyla's voice. "I'm coming, slightly pre-occupied at the moment!" A marine took that chance to deal with Rodney's problem himself. The physicist wasn't complaining, simply made his way through the mesh of bodies and followed Teyla and Ronon out of the corridor and towards the outside.

_Genii Complex, Haifae, 16 Hours, 30 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

John kept his side arm aimed steadfastly at Kolya, who just as he had last time, was using Elizabeth as a shield. And just like last time, John was biding his time, waiting for that perfect shot, more perfect than the last one had been.

He was waiting for the shot that he knew would end Kolya's life.

"Kolya, we can end this, all you have to do is let her go. There's no way you're gettin' off this planet, my men are guarding the gate, you don't have any ships to swoop in here and pick your ass up, and you can't use her anymore. Make it easier on yourself, let Dr. Weir go, and we can talk."

"I don't think so, Major," the commander tightened his hold on Elizabeth, who to her credit was still struggling, but was now making it more difficult for Sheppard to get a shot in, "she is my way off of this planet."

"You're not goin' anywhere and you know it. The minute you step near the gate with her, my men will have you surrounded, and they're a different breed of military than I am. They're not so nice." As he spoke, John finally managed to make eye contact with Weir. He shook his head almost imperceptibly, telling her to cease her struggles, which she did, understanding that it was more likely she'd get shot if she kept flailing about.

"Major Sheppard, you are risking the life of your leader. When she's dead, you'll only have yourself to blame, and if you don't want that to happen, I suggest you let me proceed!" The ever present blaster was pointed at Elizabeth's stomach, and once more, neither man willing to back down, a stalemate occurred.

_Genii Complex, Haifae, 16 Hours, 34 Minutes, Active Hostage Situation_

Her choices were becoming clear. She could either stand there and let Kolya drag her off to some unknown planet and have this whole thing start over again, or, she could take matters into her own hands and help Sheppard out a little here. As Elizabeth was a rather smart woman, she chose the latter.

With John and Kolya still staring each other down, Sheppards gun aimed at Kolya, and Kolya's side arm digging into her stomach she made her choice. With barely a warning look toward John, she clasped both her hands together and pushed back her injured arm with all her might, squarely hitting Kolya on the opposite side of the gun with as much force as she could muster. As she'd hoped, his grip loosened just enough for her to drop to the ground and try to crawl away.

The loud _crack_ of a gunshot, and she knew the Major had just taken Kolya down. Exhausted and eternally thankful that this nightmare was now over, she stopped moving completely and rolled over onto her back, holding her sliced arm to her chest and taking slow deep breaths. John was over her in a moment, talking to her, but she couldn't focus enough on him to understand what he was saying.

Her ears close to the ground, she could hear more feet pounding toward them, but Sheppard didn't look worried, so Elizabeth trusted that it was their people coming for them, their mission completed. Her hearing also finally tuned into what John was saying.

"..you stand up?"

Nodding blankly, Elizabeth lifted herself with her good arm and allowed John to help her the rest of the way. But something behind him caught her eye. She didn't even hear herself scream as she threw herself over John, feeling a harsh fire pierce her shoulder. She could hear answering gunfire and looked up, seeing Rodney unloading his 9 mil into Kolya, anger seeping from his gaze in waves. "No, Rodney..." she murmured, before sleep and the pain of now two injures, finally tugged her away from the conscious world.

_Atlantis. Infirmary. Hostage Situation Over. Surgery In Progress._

When Beckett finally reappeared from surgery, he was met with a very sour looking front line team. Ronon was leaning against a wall, staring at the wall parallel from him, Teyla was sitting beside Rodney, a comforting hand on his back while Rodney stared at the floor wringing his fingers together, and John, well...John was on his feet the minute Carson came through the door.

"She's gon'ta be alrigh'," the Scotsman reassured them, "with physical therapy an' alo' of rehabilitation, she'll have the full use of her arm back in no time."

"May we see her?" Teyla asked.

"She's still unconscious and won't be awake for another few hours. We managed ta unlodge the bullet from the deltoid and stitch up her arm. She had a wee bit of an infection beginin' in there, but thankfully, it didn't have enough time ta fester itself inta somethin' nasty." Carson's blue eyes took in the ragtag group. Elizabeth had been in surgery for the better part of four hours, and right after they'd brought her back to Atlantis, John, Ronon, Teyla, and Rodney had all accompanied her here, and hadn't left.

"Look, like I said, she won' be awake for a few hours yet. Go get somethin' ta eat, rest yerselves, and the moment she wakes up, I'll call ye all down here." Teyla, thankfully nodded and plucked at Rodney's sleeve. "Dr. Beckett is right. There is nothing more we can do here." Gently, the leader herded Rodney and Ronon from the room. At this point in time, she knew better than to go near John, who was traveling down a shame spiral that she didn't understand. Never the less, she left Beckett to take care of Sheppard, knowing that the doctor and all his needles would eventually make John see things Carson's way.

"There's nothin' more you can do, Major. Go and get some rest, a good meal in ye."

"She got shot because of me, Carson," John answered, not even hearing Beckett, "Kolya was aiming at me and because Elizabeth was facing him, and I wasn't paying attention, she saw it and jumped on top of me." He rubbed his face with his hands, trying to clear his head of the memory. "If he'd shot me, I'd be in your morgue right now."

"But you're not in the morgue. Elizabeth got shot because of Kolya, not because of you, and if I were a bettin' man, I'll lay odds she'll say exactly the same thing to ye when she wakes up." Carson pointed at the door, taking John's shoulders and gently turned him toward it. "Go an' take care of yerself, Major. I'll keep you updated on her progress." With a gentle push, Sheppard was out the door, and Carson sent a thought out to close it.

As numb as he was, John was able to make it to his quarters and when he was finally alone, he sagged against the wall and slid to the floor, no longer able to keep himself standing. Adrenaline was ebbing away, leaving him with a feeling of tiredness that he'd never felt before. But this had happened in the past, and he knew that as tired as he was, he wouldn't sleep until he saw Elizabeth's grey eyes looking back up at him, see her smile at him, _know_ that she would be alright. John's eyes followed the light shining onto the floor up to the window, felt the warmth of sunlight on his face.

That was something of what it would feel like when he knew that Elizabeth was out of the woods.

_Atlantis. Infirmary_.

"Come on, lass, there we go...open your eyes...that's better, now, aye?"

Elizabeth blinked sleepily looking around. For a moment, her mind didn't register Carson standing over her. For that brief second, she thought she was still in Genii controlled territory, but Dr. Beckett, being the seasoned medical practitioner that he was recognized panic in a persons' eyes when he saw it, and placed a careful hand on her uninjured shoulder.

"Just take it easy, Elizabeth. You're safe and back on Atlantis. You're in my infirmary," he said soothingly. "I know it must be odd from where you're sittin'...usually you're where I am and either John or Rodney is where you are."

_John. Rodney. Oh god, they'd been shot at hadn't they? Teyla and Ronon too, when they'd come to get her._

"Are they alright?" she rasped out, accepting a cup of water that Carson held out for her to sip at. "Aye, they're just fine, Dr. Weir, and as worried as ever about ye." He took the cup from her when she'd finished and checked her vitals, writing down some things on the chart he had. "Do ye remember anything that happened?"

Elizabeth nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes, I...I remember everything." She closed her eyes and looked away, taking a slow breath. "I still feel so tired," she murmured.

"That's the anesthesia talkin'. You'll be in and out for the next 24 hours or so, so don' ye be worryin' about that. Totally normal for a person just out of surgery." He'd been jotting things down on his chart while he'd been speaking, but when he looked up, he saw that Elizabeth had fallen asleep again. "See, exactly like that." He pulled the blankets a little closer to her chin, cleared some of the hair off her porcelain face and shook his head.

"Never thought I'd have to operate on you...and for a gunshot wound of all things."

_Atlantis. Infirmary._

When next Elizabeth awoke, she was greeted by tired, worrisome, yet still intensely green eyes watching her carefully. "Hey," John's voice greeted her softly, warmly, as though speaking to loud would cause her further injury, "how're you feeling?"

Weir nodded and smiled, indicating that she felt alright, certainly much better than what she had been feeling like. "Thank you," she murmured, "for coming to get me."

"Of course." John looked at her, then got up and scooted his chair closer. "No way in hell I was leaving you with that creep." John bit his lip, looking at her arm which was in a sling. Unfortunately, the gunshot hadn't hit the same side as her already injured arm, which was now stitched up and healing just fine, as Carson had predicted. It was so strange to be in this position. He was used to being the one lying in the bed, having the nurses fawn all over him, and having Elizabeth where he was sitting, playing the part of the worried friend, making sure that the injured was going to make a full recovery.

It should have been him in that bed.

"It's not your fault, John," she reassured him softly, but her voice, even though raspy from sleep and little water, still carried an authoritative air, "none of this is your fault."

"I should have been paying more attention. I should have gone to make sure Kolya was down before I came over to you." He slapped his knee hard in frustration. "I assumed he was dead cause I shot him in the chest, and because I assumed that, you got shot."

"No, John. I got shot because Kolya is a murderous, self righteous bastard." Elizabeth struggled to sit up straighter in the bed, but winced almost immediately as soon as she began to move. John hurried to help her, and within a few minutes, they'd accomplished getting her settled in a more comfortable position.

"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head, "I knew I should have gone off world with you-"

"What would that have accomplished?" She asked, studying him closely. "Do you really believe that you would have been able to do anything to stop them from taking me?" She saw his eyes flash in anger, a green fire burning in their depths. "I would have died trying," he growled. "I know you would have. And where would that have left me? Or the team? Or Atlantis for that matter?"

Sheppard hung his head, knowing she was right, but unwilling to accept it. He couldn't. He was personally responsible for her. Elizabeth Weirs safety and lively hood while she was off world was and had always been his top priority. She was his boss, their leader, and he knew in his heart that Atlantis would fall if she were taken out of the equation. She always had lived up to her obligations on Atlantis, forcing herself to make the toughest decisions, putting everyone else before herself, as leaders were supposed to do.

"I'm the military commander," he whispered, "when you go off world, it's my JOB to make sure you come back."

"I did come back."

"_Without_ gunshot wounds, Elizabeth."

With a frustrated sigh, Weir settled back against the pillows, pursing her lips together. "You know...if this is your way of trying to resign your post with this city..." John looked up at her, his expression unreadable. "Request denied."

"That's not what I was trying to do."

"Then stop guilting yourself. I had a chance to stop Kolya from hurting you. I took it. And you would have done the same for me, in fact, you _have_ done the same for me, and just because you're the military arm of this base doesn't mean that you shouldn't have other people try and protect you as well." She reached out a hand and touched his face, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "John. I don't regret what I did. Atlantis is safe, Kolya is dead, you're alive, and the team is alive as well. If I had to experience this to make that happen, then I would do it again."

John grasped her hand lightly, his thumb tracing over the delicate skin it found there. "I'm always gonna think that I'm at fault when one of my people get hurt. I always have, I always will. There's no getting around that. It's how I was trained."

"You can't control everything. You know that, don't you?"

He nodded. "It doesn't stop me from wanting to though."

"Yea," she smiled sadly, "I know."

_Atlantis. Gateroom. Two Days Later_.

"Sora. Thank you very much for you help," Weir shook hands with the young woman, "and I wanted to say...I am very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Dr. Weir. Danus...," Sora smiled sadly, fond memories of the man running through her head, "he was a good man. But, I know he died the way he wanted to. For what he believed in." Her head nodded, affirming herself of that thought. "At least that is something."

"Perhaps we could give the alliance between Atlantis and the Genii another try?" Teyla suggested, hugging her friend. "I would like that very much." Sora pulled back, placing her hands on Teyla's shoulders and dipping her head forward, the Athosian doing the same. With a final nod, Sora stepped back onto the platform, her contingent behind her, along with Mackus.

"Sora, wait up a minute," John walked up to her, handing her a small box like object, "since you know...we're gonna be helping each other out with the wraith and all, I figured we should give you this. It's an IDC..."

"Yes...I remember this," she murmured, shaking her head, "thought not under the best of conditions." Her lips smiled tightly. "I promise you. The Second Movement will make better use out of this than Kolya did."

"Yea...I got a feeling that anyone would make better use out of that thing than Kolya did." With a warm clap on the shoulder, Sora and her people were on their way through the gate. Moment's later, it shut down.

"Well, glad that's all over," Rodney said, coming down the stairs, "she kinda creeps me out."

"Who?" John furrowed his brow.

"Sora...actually, any Genii kinda creeps me out."

"Dr. McKay, Sora and her movement are possible allies. We can not afford for you to be 'creeped out'." Teyla admonished.

"Okay, let me tell you something about women where I come from, Teyla," Rodney explained, "see, it's always the sweet, blue eyed, curly blonde haired girls you've got to watch out for, because if you're a man, and you show any interest in them, that's it. You're the fly and you're caught in their web forever. And she was looking at me funny."

"Odd...that you would be showing interest in Sora," the leader thought out loud, fixing Rodney with a rather withering glare, who quickly realized his mistake. "Oh, no, nonononononono...no, I'm not uh, no, I'm not interested in Sora, I...I, you _know_ I'm not interested in Sora!"

But Teyla was having none of it, shaking her head slightly. "I am quite certain I heard you infer that you had an interest in her." She shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the gate room. "A pity."

"Now, wait a minute, Teyla, I...!" Rodney groaned aloud and pointed a finger at Sheppard. "This is all your fault!"

"Wha-MY fault, how is _any_ of that my fault?"

"I'll figure that out later!" Rodney stomped from the gate room, passing Ronon as he entered with a smirk on his face. "He doesn't stand a chance against that woman," he commented, passing Sheppard on his way out the opposite door.

Atlantis. East Pier Balcony. One Week Later

John listened to the waves lapping up against the city shore. Now that Elizabeth was back, he could hear the ocean again, see the sky again, and feel Atlantis flowing through him. When she was gone, he couldn't do any of those things, but now...now that she was back, he was on balance again.

"Here you are."

Speak of the devil. John casually glanced over his shoulder, watching Elizabeth walk toward him. "I've been looking all over for you." She crossed her uninjured arm over the railing and peered out, smiling as the sun hit her face.

"Looks like you win the search."

"I actually wanted to speak with you about something."

"Okay," John shifted his stance to face her.

"I've just recently spoken to Teyla. It appears that she and Dr. McKay have formed something...a little more than friendship. She didn't want it to be a problem so that's why she came to me. She wanted me to speak to you about their positions."

"What about their positions?"

Clearing her throat, Elizabeth took a deep breath of fresh air. "She wanted to make sure that if she and Rodney were going to give whatever this was a try that they weren't removed from their current posts on the off-world team." A momentary side glance at the Colonel told her she had nothing to worry about, but he voiced his opinion anyway.

"You can't have a team as good as ours without some kind of relationship. Whatever that relationship is. They're not military, so there's nothing I can do about it and even if I could, I wouldn't. Besides," he shrugged, looking out over the ocean, purposely not looking at her, "I've served with and under people that were...for lack of a better word, 'guilty' of the same thing."

Elizabeth frowned. "Who?"

John shook his head, as though refusing to tell her.

"Do I know any of them?"

"Yea," for a moment, John wished there was a rock that he could pick up and chuck into the sea. He needed something for his idle hands to do other than what he was gradually realizing he _wanted_ them to do. His eyes finally came off the water and glanced at his companion. Elizabeth's eyebrow was raised, the way it was when she found something interesting that she wanted to know more about.

"Besides Rodney and Teyla, is there anyone else on Atlantis I should be aware of?" She watched John quirk his mouth around a bit and tilted her head to the side. "John?"

He suddenly stood up straight. "I'm hungry...haven't eaten yet today," he started for the exit, but Weir's hand on his arm stopped him. "Well, if you wanted to come along all you had to do was ask." That trade mark armed and charmed grin came out, but Elizabeth knew it was also a defense mechanism.

"John, what aren't you telling me?"

"I..." he sighed, shaking his head, "I don't wanna get into it right now. I just wanna eat."

"If you didn't want to get into it right now, then you wouldn't have given me the opening to ask those questions." She studied the man in front of her closely. "Okay, this is me. I'm not the leader of Atlantis or Dr. Weir. I'm just Elizabeth. Talk to me." When he didn't move his mouth, Elizabeth turned on the pleading look. "Please?"

"That you _should_ be aware of...yea, probably," he murmured, studying his toes, "that you _want_ to be aware of...I don't know."

"John as long as you don't tell me that Kavanaugh has the hots for me, I think I'll survive anything else." The words had barely left her mouth before John's face became slightly apologetic, mixed with tinge of subtlety. "Oh my god, you've got to be joking..." her heart practically leapt into her throat when John couldn't hold his face anymore and broke out laughing. She slapped him playfully, feigning anger and anything but amusement.

"Ahhh...oh boy," John scratched the back of his neck, "okay. Look, this isn't...you know, it's not like this suddenly developed or anything, but I've developed...more than professional feelings for a good friend of mine." He watched both her eyebrows raise, which he knew to mean surprise. "Okay. Who?"

"You."

Seldom did Elizabeth Weir leave her mouth agape. However, there she was, standing on the East Pier of Atlantis, mouth wide open in shock. John gave her a small smile for her trouble. "Sooner or later you're going to have to close your mouth...otherwise a...buzzard or something might fly in..."

Her mouth snapped shut. Then, "I never knew."

"I know," he said softly, "that's how I wanted it...how I needed it to be."

"Then why..." she shook her head, "why did you tell me?"

"I'm hungry and you wouldn't let me leave the pier," he said wryly.

"I'm not...I'm not sure what to say..." her head bobbed from side to side in uncertainty. "I mean, I'm...I'm flattered, but I...have no idea how to react to this..."

"You don't have to say anything."

She swallowed. "I feel like I need to."

"You don't," John reassured, "believe me. You don't have to." His hands dug into his pockets. "Anyway's...I'm gonna grab something to eat." Elizabeth nodded, watching him intently as he left the Pier, and her, alone. And just as John would do when he was seeking answers, she turned her eyes to the sea, hoping that the waves would spell out the advice that she needed so badly.

_Atlantis. Major Sheppards Quarters._

"Ah, _War and Peace_, how I have missed you." Sheppard settled back on his bed, his legs crossed at the ankle. He'd eaten, done a bit of working out with Teyla in which the Athosian had once again kicked his ass all over the gym floor, taken a shower, and was now settling in for the night with a good book.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Or he _was_ settling in for the night with a good book...

Sighing, he hopped off the bed, placing the book on the foot of it as he willed the door to open, "Can I help yo-Elizabeth!" He furrowed his brow. She rarely, if ever visited him in his quarters, and she would usually radio him if she needed to speak to him. He took in her slightly apprehensive expression. "Everything alright?"

"Actually, I just came by because I have something to say and...if I don't say it now while I've got it in my head, I probably never will and things will be awkward between the two of us and Atlantis can't afford that so-"

"Okay...I'm telling your aide to cut back your coffee allowance for a bit," he held up his hands comfortingly, "just come on in and slow down...and calm down, cause if you don't, I won't get a word of what you say and then you'll have to repeat it." He watched her ease herself into the room, saw her look around as she'd never been in his quarters that much, and when she looked back at him, he gave her an encouraging nod. The one thing he wouldn't allow would be her to fear him for any reason. He thought the door closed behind her, waiting for her to begin whenever she was ready.

"Earlier today, you gave me quite a shock. I'd no idea how you felt about me, or how long you've felt that way. All day, I've found myself going over conversations, get together's, lunch dates...any period of time that we've been together and trying to see where I was blind. I thought back to your smiles, your laughs...the way your eyes crinkled when I'd say something that you believed was actually funny..." she shrugged, letting out a breath and continuing. John let her. He only stood in front of her, trying to look as un-intimidating as possible.

"I'd be lying if I said that I should have recognized the way you felt about me earlier, because I honestly can't. You'd make a good diplomat, John. If you don't want people to know something, they won't. But...but you have the advantage in this situation. You at least know how you feel. I thought I did, and then..." she shook her head, "and then you came along and changed the rules of the game."

"I didn't want to mess things up-" The Major tried to explain but Elizabeth held a hand up, and he quieted immediately. "You didn't mess anything up, John. You were honest, which is something that some people can't be with others, and many people with themselves. But you were with both and I find that...admirable."

She wasn't sure when she ended up standing about six inches away from him, looking up into fantastically forest green eyes. "I don't know what I want right now. I have Simon back on Earth, but I'm not sure if that's going to last...I'm not sure if I _want _it to last. What I _do_ know is that I'm alive today largely because of your efforts, and not just with this last situation, but with the dozens of life threatening events that have come to us before."

"I can't tell you what will happen. I don't know the answers, and I don't know what will happen with us...you're a good friend, one of the best and loyal I've ever had, and I never want to lose it." She caught his cheek with her hand as he lowered his eyes slightly. "But I don't want to turn away something that might quite possibly be greater than what we already have...just because I may be afraid of it."

"We'll take it slow," John assured her, "nothing will happen until and if you want it to. I swear."

"I know." She was already starting to feel more than a little at home with his eyes on her's so directly. "But there's something that has to remain paramount. And that's-"

"Atlantis," he finished for her, "I know. And it will. I promise. Any and all personal problems we might have with each other...we'll leave in what ever quarters it's discussed in." He gently clasped his hand over hers and squeezed his assurance.

"Okay."

"Okay."

Neither one seemed to want to move from their spot. John's book was happily forgotten on the bed, and Elizabeth was seriously thinking about staking a claim on the one square foot of real-estate she was standing on at the moment. Then, without warning and at the same time, the both let out small laughs.

"I have no idea what to do now," Weir confessed, brushing her hair back. John's hands found their way to her arms, taking special care to handle her hurt arm carefully. "You could stay here a while...relax...watch me read a book." Though she did her best to hide it, he caught the apprehension ease back into her face for just a moment. She began to explain, but he stopped her. "Don't worry about it. I said we'll go slow, you don't have to explain yourself to me."

"Thank you," she murmured, accepting a small hug from him. She felt him place a warm kiss on her forehead, and she realized how much she missed just being held, being wanted, cared for, needed. "I'd hug you back but..." she chuckled nervously, stepping back, "I'm slightly crippled for the time being."

"Yea well...take it from me, Carson will have that arm back up and running before you know it. You're in the best of hands, pun absolutely intended." He guided her toward the door, willing it open again. "I'll see you tomorrow, rest the arm and your brain for once."

"I think I'm rather insulted by that remark, Major," Elizabeth mockingly said, to which John replied, "better than telling you to start thinking."

"There is that." She stepped across the threshold and turned back to him. "Thank you...for just listening...for understanding. I've never been good with this sort of thing. It's always been about my career and other people."

"Yea...I get that." They said good night and he watched her walk down the hallway until she rounded a corner that took her out of his sight. Closing the door once more with his mind, he leaned against it and closed his eyes.

"More than you know."


End file.
